Month: April 2012

It’s Monday…time for another installment of Cook with a week’s worth of fun fare from Food + Wine! This week they are featuring quite a few fish dishes -going the healthy route I guess:)- and a yummy recipe for Crispy Corn Tortillas with Chicken and Cheddar. Sounds like a great one for the kids in your house! Bon Appetit!

The hubby and I have some fabulous friends, Nick and Julie! They know us pretty well and share our passion for partying; however, they are partial to beer or an ocassional cocktail. Wine is not really their thing. Rick and I will drink pretty much anything:)

That said, this Christmas Nick and Julie gave us, what has turned out to be one of my most favorite presents..ever! A gift subscription to a wine of the month club and not just any wine of the month club. (More on the WoM Club in a future post!) Every month we receive a bottle of wine from a Virginia winery. I know what you may be thinking, “She must be nuts to get so excited over wine of the month from VIRGINIA!” Well, you would be mistaken, because the wines here in Virginia are really quite good. A number of them have gone head to head with French wines in international competitions and won!

A couple of months ago we received our monthly delivery which contained a red table wine, 2010 Red Star, from Veritas Vineyard and Winery. It was delightful! It starts off fruity and finishes smooth. Not too dry, but not too sweet either. I enjoyed the bottle with some sharp cheddar, Borsin cheese, red grapes and organic Honey Crisp apples thinly sliced. It is also quite lovely alone…no food required. It’s not a super fancy wine. It’s one for everyday drinking. A perfect spring wine for sipping in the sunshine.

Oh and one more thing…tomorrow is Nick’s birthday!!! Yet another reason, other than the fact that it’s Friday, to enjoy a bottle of Veritas Red Star or whatever libation you enjoy! Cheers and Happy Birthday, Nick!

Three years ago my best friend of 35 years was diagnosed with Lyme disease. I watched her go from a vibrant, active woman to someone that could barely move or get out of bed. The disease had taken over her body. All her organs including her brain had been affected. She had memory loss to an alarming degree, lost a substantial amount of weight and had the joint pain of a 95 year old arthritis sufferer at the age of 37. Fortunately, she was able to find and afford medical care to put her on the path to recovery. Many are not so lucky.

It is quite difficult to find a doctor that believes it is even a real disease. Others think a course of anitbiotics will solve the problem. It doesn’t. And if you are lucky enough to find a doctor that believes Lyme is real AND is Lyme Literate, you truly have a guardian angel. BUT you then have to find a way to pay for the treatment which is mostly NOT covered by helath insurance. My best friend spent nearly $25,000 last year for her treatment and that of her daughter who is also a Lyme sufferer.

Living in Loudoun County, where the incidence of Lyme is the highest in the state, I can safely say that 90% of the people I know either have Lyme, a member of their family has Lyme or knows somebody with Lyme. Lyme disease is a bacterial spirochete transmitted by ticks usually showing itself by a bullseye rash located at the site of the bite. You cannot count on the rash as a tell tale sign because it is not always present. One thing is for certain, it is an absolutely debilitating disease for which there is no cure and the treatment is intense and lifelong.

So let’s put a “bullseye” on Lyme disease Sunday, May 6th at the Loudoun Lyme Walk being held at the National Conference Center in Lansdowne from 8-11AM. If you pre-register, you will get a t-shirt and goodie bag! In addition to the run or walk, depending on your preference, there will be vendors on hand and information about Lyme and ways to prevent infection. Come out to help find solutions to the ever blossoming problem of Lyme disease.

***Specialicious is also running a special through , I believe, midnight 4/27 for discounted entry to the 5K Run/Walk.***